Pondera
by RuneNeko
Summary: Magic needs a balance and will lash out to regain it. An old prophecy comes to light, and with it, darkness engulfs Europe. 'the power the Dark Lord knows not' will be revealed, and who better for Magic to use as it's vessel if not the 'Boy-Who-Lived?Ootp


Title:

Title: _Pondera_

Summary: Magic, like all things in the universe, needs a balance. The balance in this equation is Light vs. Dark. What if the balance was upset and magic lashed out? What happens when an old prophecy comes to light, and the twelve hours of Perpetual Darkness engulfed Europe? Post OotP, no HBP, no DH.

Warnings: Mild language

Pairings: Harry?, RonHermione, RemusTonks, Neville?

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, they belong to J.K. Rowling.

(Doesn't it get boring after a while when you hear the same disclaimer by many authors?)

Note: This is my plot, one of its kind I do believe, and would appreciate it if you asked me permission before using it. It's kind of sad when people read a story, and then write one similar to it, and half the time, it isn't even as well written as the first (if the first was well written at all).

Note2: I need pairings for Harry and Neville. For Harry, I do not care if it is male or female, but for Neville, it has to be female. Please tell me what pairings you want, and in the case of slash, there will not be any in-depth details, for it will be the first slash fic I will write. Please make sure that the pairings are within the right age group. As much as I love Snarry (Snape/Harry), I will not write a relationship between two people where one is easily double the other's age. For example, Draco/Harry, or CedricHarry (I'll think of a way for Cedric to survive if this is the case). The same is for Neville's pairing. The other pairings in this story is non-negotiable, for the way Rowling paired them up is awesome, and I, myself, also like the pairings. Thank you.

--

Phase one, Hour one – Chapter one

--

It. It did not have a gender. It did not age. It did not feel; see; taste; hear; smell. It was a void of nothingness, yet filled with everything. It was nice, yet rude. Light yet dark. Good yet evil.

And yet…

Despite everything it was not, and nothing it was, it was an entity that very few were conscious of. Knew of. _Part_ of.

It was old, yet young. It watched unusual Beings appear in the very place It occupied, and find ways to harness It. It was not stupid; nor was it all-knowing. But what It did know, was that these unusual Beings did not deserve what they greedily took without asking. It built up Its righteous anger, and was about to unleash it upon the unsuspecting Beings when four rose up above the rest.

Curious, It balked for a moment, wondering why those four Beings rose up. It watched as the four masterfully weaved Its mysterious power without taking, without commanding with uttermost superiority.

Placated that the Beings were not going to repeat what they did before, It settled It's righteous anger and watched as the other Beings also began to weave the power masterfully; neither taking, or commanding, but merely _guiding_.

It watched, and allowed, the Beings to build a great architecture solely dedicated to teaching other Beings how to _guide_ the power instead of _taking_, showing how much easier it was to _guide_ instead of _commanding_.

It watched as the four Great Beings fought within their own ranks, splitting the teachings into Four different groups, one for each Great Being. One was crafty, cunning, and sly, like the Great Being that led them. It liked these Beings, they were the ones who _guided_ Its power with certainty and confidence.

One was full of smart beings, always alone to study the scribbles It could not make out, just like the Great Being that taught them. It also liked these Beings, but not much, as they were careful in _guiding_ Its power, and more often than not, taunted the Beings in another group who were unable to _guide_ as well as the rest.

Another was courageous, prideful, rash, and confident, just like the Great Being that showed them. It liked these Beings too, for they were always sticking up for those younger, shyer, or just plain bad at _guiding_. They did not turn their backs on their fellow Beings, openly flaunted their skills, and did not hesitate in rushing headlong into danger to save a fellow Being.

The last were fiercely loyal, cunning, smart, and courageous; all three groups into one, just like the Great Being that guided them. Although It liked all four groups, It liked this one a little bit more.

It watched as one of the Four Great Beings left the Great Architecture, never returning to teach.

It watched as the last three Great Beings succumbed to the passage of time.

It watched as the Beings that succeeded them continued to teach others to _guide_.

It watched as greed and prejudice take root deep within the ranks of the Beings.

It watched as Beings came into existence from those unable to _guide_.

It watched as the Beings ascended from those from the Four Great Beings' pupils took comfort in their prejudice.

It watched as Beings of all kinds got greedier, how the world plunged into Darker Ages.

It watched as Good Beings rose up and vanquished the Darker Ages with a mighty swing of their Sticks.

It watched as the Good Beings evened out the Bad Beings, a balance kept by unspoken agreement.

It watched as the Bad Beings slowly began to outnumber the Good Beings.

It watched as both sides forgot how to _guide_, it being lost to the passage of time. And Its power taken forcibly, commandingly.

It watched as the Bad Beings made Darker Beings, ones far more powerful than they.

It watched as the Darker Beings quickly grew in numbers and turned on their creators.

It watched as Mighty Battles took place, two Mighty Beings fighting viciously. One for Peace, one for Chaos.

It watched as the Good Mighty Being smite the Bad Mighty Being, and declare Peace.

It watched as another Mighty Being come into existence.

It watched as that Mighty Being ravaged the world they lived in.

It watched as the Bad Beings and the Darker Beings waged another War on the Good Beings and the Good Mighty Being.

It watched as they fought, Beings dropping left and right needlessly. It felt the Balance shifting.

It watched as the Bad Mighty Being killed two Good Beings without remorse, and tried to kill another Being, this one only being new to the world, a child.

It watched as Its power, in an attempt to save the Being's life, backlashes on the Bad Mighty Being, killing him.

It watched as the Good Mighty Being puts the child into the care of Useless Beings, keeping an extra eye on the child.

It watched as the child grew; keeping its child like innocence despite being hurt by the Useless Beings.

It watched as the child kept a pure heart, and his innocence despite the life he lived.

It watched as the Bad Mighty Being came back, the balance shifting too much.

It watched as the Bad Mighty Being tried to kill the child It grew so fond of.

It watched as the Bad Mighty Being continued his needless assault on his own kind, the use of Its Darker Side shifting too much, vying for some Balance.

It watched as the world was plunged into a state of fear.

It watched as the last thread holding the Balance snap…

… and It lashed out.

--

Shifting parchment, wheezy breathing, and the occasional raspy whisper permeated the candlelit room. The light from the candle was barely enough to banish the shadowy corners of the room, but the occupant of said room didn't even seem to mind.

He didn't even seem to notice.

So focused on his work, he did not hear the door to the room open a crack, the un-oiled and rusted hinges squeaking and grinding against the forced movement. A balding head with thin tuffs of white hair, overly large, pointed, hairy ears, tennis ball sized silver eyes, and a long, thin crooked nose poked through the crack, a croaky voice slicing through the silence of the room, "Master needing anything?"

The bent over man at the desk did not reply, occasionally whispering something under his breathe as he studied ancient pieces of parchment. The odd looking creature, already used to this, uttered into the almost silence, "Binny shall fetch you some tea, then, Master. And some biscuits perhaps?"

He did not reply, but by an unseen gesture only caught by the odd creature made it nod, "Very well, Master. Binny shall be right back with Master's refreshments."

It closed the screeching door, and the man, unheeded by the loud intrusion on his thoughts, continued what he was doing. It did not seem like the loud noise even got through to his old and busy brain.

The doors squeaked open again, wider this time, and the odd creature from before lightly stepped into the room, closing it as fast as it could with it's strength, the platter of refreshments floating by some unseen command.

Finally closing the loud door firmly, the odd creature fetched the platter without blinking a tennis sized eye, and brought it over to the man at the table. It noticed that the candle was getting dangerously low, so made a mental note to fetch another one. It set the platter down at the end of the table, clear of any stray parchment, and carefully watched the man's reaction to the place it was set.

The man nonchalantly reached over, patted it once on the head, grabbed the handle of the teacup firmly, and brought it to his lips in one long sip. The scorching hot liquid burned his tongue, and roof of his mouth, but he didn't seem to care. He gave a contented sigh, insides warming up from the hot liquid settling inside his stomach.

"Thank you, Binny, for the tea," he rasped more clearly than before. It was obvious that the tea was doing his throat some good.

"Master is welcome, Binny is wondering if Master is needing anything else?"

"Another candle, please. I am afraid that this one is almost out," he replied, and Binny nodded. It ran to the door, opening it a squeaking crack, and slipped out, the door sliding shut once more.

The man took another sip, cup held in both hands to warm them. His experienced and swift eyes scanned the pages in front of him, trying to make sense as to what they were saying. The contents of the parchment were a mystery, as no one could read what they were depicting. They were written long before the Four Founder's time, and after Merlin's. It was said it was written by a respected Seer from those days, and was written down for future reference. But as the years turned, and nothing the Seer predicted came true, so they burned all but one copy of the prediction and stored the remaining copy in a secret place.

The preserved copy was right in front of him.

Suddenly, as the squeaking of the door behind him signaled the entry of his house-elf, the words on the parchment shifted, moving around the parchment's surface for a few nanoseconds before settling down again. This time, the contents of the parchment was as clear as day.

"Merlin!" he gasped, shooting up so fast, the crotchety old chair he was sitting on abruptly flew backwards, and landed on the floor. Binny squeaked, startled at the swift motion its Master hadn't performed for several decades.

"Something wrong, Master?" Binny questioned hesitantly.

"Merlin… it has started. It has started… someone must be warned!" he rasped to himself, thinking hard. Then, his eyes lit up, "Dumbledore! I must tell that old fool what is happening, for he is the only one who can fix things. At least, that is what I hope."

He turned his intense dark eyes to his house-elf, "Binny! Fetch me some parchment, a quill and some ink! Hurry and bring it up to the Owlery in the Tower!"

"Of course, Master," Binny squeaked and scurried out of the room.

The man hurriedly gathered the parchment spread on the table and all but ran out of the room. The Tower wasn't very far, but it was far enough to make him wheeze and puff with a red face from the exertion his frail body wasn't used to. Not a minute later, Binny scurried into the room and hastily set the contents in his arms onto a not-so-clean table.

Not concerned with the state of the convenient table, he swiftly wrote out a letter to his old friend, folded it with the rest of the parchment when it was done, and securely tied it to the leg of his fastest eagle-owl.

"Bring this to Dumbledore as fast as you can, Achilles, it is of grave importance."

The eagle-owl, dubbed Achilles by his master, hooted once before shooting off over the ocean. The man watched from the only window in the tower until the bird was out of site, and turned back to Binny.

"Master okay?" Binny asked apprehensively.

"I am fine, Binny. Go and set my bed, this old body of mine has had enough exercise for one day."

"Yes Master, Binny do that right away," and scurried off again.

The man shot one more look out the window before following in Binny's wake.

--

Looking out the grimy window of Number Four, Privet Drive Harry watched the skies for any sign of his owl, Hedwig. He had sent her out to deliver his reply to the request that he come and stay the rest of the holidays at Grimmauld Place. Despite his… reluctance to stay at the place Sirius grew up in, fearing all the meager memories of him and his godfather would well up at once, he agreed to go for his own safety.

Voldemort, revived after using the Triwizard Tournament as bait to lure Harry to him, was very angry that Harry had managed to escape him for the _fifth_ time. Dumbledore did not hold much faith in the ability of the barriers and protection spells he, himself, cast on the Dursley home anymore. After Harry told him the events that occurred that night, Dumbledore hesitated ever-so-slightly to let him return. Harry didn't even spend a week in the household before the letter bearing the request came a-tapping at his window on the leg of a handsome brown owl.

Now all Harry had to do was wait for the time when Dumbledore and some Aurors would come to pick him up.

But it seemed that Fate had some other plans for him tonight.

_11:58 pm, Littlest Bedroom, Number Four, Privet Drive, Surrey._

"Two more minutes," Harry intoned after glancing at his beat-up watch for the umpteenth time in five minutes. He finished packing but a minute ago, and was not sure what to do now. Should he take it downstairs to the fireplace? Leave it here?

How were they going to travel anyway?

Harry hated it when he didn't know the answers to important questions such as these. Or maybe he was looking too much into it. Surely they don't expect him to lug the heavy trunk down the stairs without making a sound? No, he was positive that they were going to take care of it.

They always did anyways.

He sat down heavily on his bed and looked around the gloomy, bare room. Absolutely nothing was in it, at all, save the moldy cot, the rotting bookshelf, and old desk shoved against the wall by the window. Harry counted himself lucky he got even this.

_11:59_

"One more minute… why can't they be early for once? It's not like I'm going to mind them being early if it means that I can get out of here sooner," Harry whispered to himself.

Not standing the wait much longer, as time seemed to be slowing down just to spite him, Harry jumped up off his cot and walked to the door.

_12:00_

Several things happened at once.

Just as Harry's hand was going to grip the door knob, his watch beeped one, long note. At the same time, pain lanced through his head, down his back, along his arms and legs, and into each one of his toes and fingers. His mouth opened in what would have been one long keening wail of pain, but nothing left his vocal cords. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and his body rose from the floor.

Outside, the stars blotted out, the moon erased, and the electricity in London failed, casting a long shadow over Europe.

--

The old man had just laid down to rest when the torches along the walls hissed and sputtered out, trails of smoke wafting above it for but a second. His gaze landed on the lone candle beside his bed. As soon as the dark gaze rested on the candle, a mysterious wind not felt blew out the flame, and the room was plunged into darkness.

--

What do you think? I had to get this plot bunny out of my head before it exploded. I won't stop with the other fics, and with the internet completely gone from my house, I will probably have more time to write, and not read. So, never fear, my other fics shall be getting an update as soon as I can get around to writing them.


End file.
